I’ve said this many times and in many ways (as far back as 2010), but I’ll say it again. Our pundit / journalist class is obsessed with air travel. Their reporting on the state of the industry is way out of proportion with most Americans’ experience of it. Many airline workers are out because of COVID, causing delays and cancellations, and the press’s hair is on fire.
Traveler’s tip: if your hair is on fire, don’t attempt to board a domestic flight. (International travel is fine.)
It’s not my intention to rant about this incessantly. I’m merely raising it as indicative of the gap between wealthy people’s experience of America and that of non-wealth people. There are many dangers facing poor and working class people in the U.S.; missing an early flight to Miami is not high on their priority lists, by and large.
COVID: The long and the short of it
Here’s another thing I’ve talked about repeatedly: I don’t understand why the Biden administration isn’t pushing harder on COVID. While the uber press is complaining about long wait times at airports and restaurants, something like 200,000 people are getting sick every day and well more than a thousand are dropping dead of this stupid ailment.
So forgive me for repeating myself, but WHY did the administration not prepare properly for the holidays (i.e. ramp up tests, masks, etc)? Why aren’t they using the Defense Production Act to mass produce the new oral COVID therapies, test kits, masks, and hell … vaccines? Why aren’t they supporting Dr. Peter Hotez’s efforts to distribute the COVID vaccine his team developed – a vaccine with no patent and a simple formula easily replicated in developing countries?
I think the answer to the first question is simple. They didn’t think COVID would continue to be a problem by the end of the year, and didn’t want to seem alarmist. Again, the nineties Democratic party brain kicked in, and they were primarily concerned with messaging and perception.
The self-imposed limits of power
The answers to the second and third questions go deeper, but still reflect the timidity of Democrats even when they hit a trifecta of governmental power at the federal level. Last week I talked about the administration’s take on sending masks to every American. It would be relatively simple for them to beat the low bar set by Trump last year. Arguably they have done this, but only just.
The fact is, people are still marching into eternity at a sickening rate. There should be no holds barred when it comes to fighting this scourge. And yet, the administration still observes the constraints set by neoliberal economic policy. Yes, they want to appear bold to the activist base. But whenever the opportunity arises to move an issue forward, they do nothing and focus the blame on some immutable force: the parliamentarian, the filibuster, immigration judges, etc.
Like the corporate media, they seem to live in another world. It’s a world where you can ignore every country in sub-Saharan Africa without risking new strains of COVID. It’s a world in which action in mid-January is an appropriate response to an emergency in mid-December – a world of frequent flights and limo rides.
What we can do
You can call or write the White House and tell them what you think they should do. I know you’re one person, but it doesn’t hurt to add your voice to the thousands of others calling in.
Another thing you can do is contact your Congressional Representatives. I say you can do that, though for me it’s kind of a waste of time – my Rep is a Trump-loving twitter troll named Claudia Tenney, and there’s zero point in contacting her unless you want a Tenney/Trump bumper sticker. I’m thinking about contacting members in neighboring districts.
There are myriad other ways to make your voice heard. I really think we need to push back hard against these policy failures. Don’t let the lobbyists be the only ones they hear from.
luv u,
jp
